BALI, INDONESIA
Bali tourism virtual travel event taps on specific hotel reopening issues including travel bubbles, the Chinese market and wait for Indonesia’s government’s go-ahead
Bali’s hotels are ready and willing – but not necessarily able – to reopen their doors and start welcoming international travellers again, according to the Bali Hotels Association’s (BHA) Government Relations Director, Fransiska Handoko.
Waiting on the government's go-ahead, travel bubbles and a lack of domestic tourists are the overriding concerns for a Bali travel industry trying to battle through the COVID pandemic according to key leading speakers at the recent 'Bali Tourism - The Way Back' virtual event organized by Delivering Asia Communications and C9 Hotelworks together with the Bali Hotels Association and Horwath HTL.
Fielding questions from respected travel journalist Mimi Hudoyo, TTG Asia's Editor Indonesia, Handoko was candid about the efforts of BHA members and their responses to the catastrophic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has caused more disruption to the island's main industry than previous crisis.
However, Handoko pointed out, despite preparations by the island's hospitality businesses, it is the responsibility of the Bali's provincial government to make the final ruling. "Our members are more than ready to reopen, with hotels continuing training programmes and maintaining standard operating procedures. We are ready to welcome guests but the decision must come from the government."
Speaking on Bali's interest in creating travel bubbles with China, South Korea, Japan and Australia, Handoko said, "Bali and Indonesia are ready for travel bubbles. However, the rest of the world still sees Indonesia as a high-risk country, so these plans are still in the discussion stage. It may be more logical to form travel bubbles within ASEAN because of the shorter travel times. But we are still observing how the situation will evolve."
One of the event highlights was an 'on-the-ground' hotel perspective from Emily Subrata, Director, Sudamala Resorts and Lucienne Anhar, Co-Owner and Managing Director, Tugu Hotels & Restaurants, who discussed the different methods hotel owners have used to counter the during the pandemic.
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